Understand Yourself
Top tips to understand yourself
Take time to reflect
Give yourself 5 or 10 minutes every day to take a step back from daily life. Reflect on what’s going well for you, what you have achieved, what you have enjoyed. Consider what’s not working well, where you want to make improvements or behave differently. Spending quality time with yourself every day helps you see the beauty in life and provides clear insights into what you want to change.
Be a trend-spotter
Keep a daily journal of your emotional state of mind and your reactions to people and events. What trends can you see? Identifying situations that trigger stressful responses allows you to take action to avoid such situations or find better ways to cope with them.
Look in the mirror
What we see in others is quite often what we see in ourselves. If someone has a trait that you find particularly irritating, ask yourself what part of that trait you carry yourself. Noticing the flaws in others can help us better judge ourselves.
Flip it
When faced with a daily choice in life, stop a moment and decide to do the opposite of what you would naturally do. Doing something you wouldn’t expect from yourself can be a fun way to get new experiences and learn about yourself and the world. It may even uncover a hidden side of you.
Ask others
Find a support group, a mentor or a coach to help you increase your self-awareness and find your way. Sometimes we have ‘blind spots’ in our how we see ourselves that only become clear when mirrored back to us by someone else.
Read and research
There are stacks of self-help books and personal development websites that can provide exercises to help you structure your learning and exploration. MBTI is the most widely recognized tool for understanding your inborn personality type, and there are many other resources available too.
Apply generously
Awareness is one thing, but you achieve more by applying what you have learned. With a good understanding of your natural strengths, you can afford to take positive risks to put them into practice in your life. If at first all doesn’t go well, learn from it and move on. You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes.
Celebrate you
We’re all unique, with different experiences, approaches and views on life. Embrace who you are. Enjoy being you. No-one else gets to have your experience of life. Treat it as a gift and savour every moment.
Further resources